Troubleshooting Landshape
Are you experiencing issues with a command? Let's troubleshoot.
Troubleshooting Command Input
🤔 Does Command not work as expected? Probably, you are using invalid input.
😎 For Pick commands, it's easy to learn valid inputs. Try one of these:
- Simply hover the toolbar command button. This should show the tooltip. Many tooltips summarize valid input.
- While Commanding, right-click geometry and go directly to: Landshape > Learn Command. Alternatively, open Learn from anywhere, and manually navigate to the command's page.
- Open SketchUp's Instructor panel. The Instructor should update as you switch tools. You may dock it to the side.
Some commands already support a quite liberal range of inputs. However, some commands simply will not work with certain kinds of input.
One reason for this is because different commands have different purposes. Some commands only make sense for an enclosed area. Others only make sense for a path of edges.
Holygon aims to expand the range of valid inputs in future updates. Ideally, all pickers should support any input that makes sense.
A long-term goal of Landshape is to become very liberal with input.
Troubleshooting in Detail
In Landshape, command issues often stem from one of three sources. These sources are: Selection, Values, Terrain.
Let's look at each, in order of relevance:
1. Check Your Selection
An invalid or badly formed input selection is probably the most common source of command error in Landshape.
Different commands expect different kinds of geometry in input. To learn what is valid input for a command, open: Landshape > Support > Learn Landshape
Here, navigate to the command. Read the instruction regarding valid Input. Try adjusting your input to match the instruction.
Isolate Your Error Source by Sandboxing
A great way to troubleshoot, without messing around in a current project model, is this. Open an new empty sandbox model, paste-in-place your terrain in there, manually recreate a very much simplified version of your input – e.g. a group containing a simple circle, or an edgepath, or some points – and try the same command there.
If the command works on the same terrain, but with simpler input, the issue should lie within your input.
Go back to your master model. Edit your input, and try again.
2. Check Your Command Values
If you know that your input is valid, but it still does not work, then chances are that your command values are inappropriate for the task at hand.
These are the values that you command applies when running. You should see most values in the VCB, the value control box. The VCB is typically placed in the lower right corner of your Sketchup window.
Consult the Guide
For many commands, you can also see the values in the temporary Overlay Guideplate. The Guideplate, or Guide, is a fixed-position text field, that should be visible in the upper right corner of your Sketchup model viewport. The Guide should show automatically as you run major Landshape commands. In addition to VCB values, the Guide shows other data. This can give a clue to the issue.
In case you cannot see the Guide even though you have started a major Landshape command, go to Sketchup's Overlays panel, and turn on "Landshape Guide" there.
When there are issues with values, this almost always means that the value is too high or too low. Try running the command, adjust the value to something less extreme, hit Enter. Repeat, and repeat again, to see if there is improvement in the result.
The right value will depend on your project context, terrain properties, and your design intent. For this reason, there is no general rule-of-thumb for when a value is good.
Check Global Values
Many commands use a global value. This means that the same value is shared across different commands. In Landshape, a key global value is Resolution. Resolution drives many major Landshape commands, such as Mesh, Embed, and Form. You can check your current global values by opening the Panel.
Since global values affect many commands, do not change them mindlessly.
If needed, you may factory-reset all Panel settings via:Landshape > Prop > Reset Settings…
Values are sometimes called "parameters". They are two words for the same thing.
Isolate Your Error Source by Sandboxing
A great way to troubleshoot, without messing around in a current project model, is this. Open a new empty sandbox model, paste-in-place your terrain and if needed your geometry input in there, and then try running the same command there, but this time, use different values.
If the command works on the same terrain, on the same input, but with different values, the issue is with your command values.
3. Check Your Terrain
If your terrain gets messed-up, many Landshape commands will fail, or mess up your terrain even more.
A messed-up or currupt terrain is not very common. But it can may happen.
Signs that your terrain itself is not healthy include:
- You see interior holes in the terrain.
- You see overlapping faces in the terrain.
- You see unfaced naked edges in the terrain.
- You see non-triangular faces in the terrain.
- Your terrain mesh topology looks weird in other ways.
- Several unrelated commands produce weird results or fail. This is especially true of commands that remesh the terrain.
Once your terrain gets messed-up, continuing to run Landshape commands will likely continue to mess up your terrain even more.
⛔ Should your terrain get messed up, stop editing the terrain.
Try to undo the previous commands. Backtrack your steps, until you reach a healthy terrain again. To see whether your terrain is healthy, you need to keep hidden edges on, and look attentively at the terrain mesh topology.
If running a certain command in a certain way seems to mess up your terrain, try an alternative way of proceeding.
😵💫 Currently, there is no automatic way to fix a broken terrain.
You can try to fix your terrain manually. If your terrain is broken only in a small area, you may try to enter your raw terrain mesh, and manually remove the issues, using Sketchup's native e.g. Select and Line tools. Ensure that all faces are triangular.
Holygon acknowledges that manually fixing a broken terrain is hard.
In the future, Holygon hopes to include a new "Heal" command. Heal will try to help you fix terrain mesh issues automatically.
😎 If you're a paying user, and need help now, contact Holygon Support. Holygon will help you.
If you have tried all the above, and the fault lies with Landshape, let Holygon know.
Found a Landshape Issue? Report It.
🤔 Please expect Beta versions to have some rough spots.
Have you encountered an issue with Landshape? Report the issue, or open a Support ticket. Holygon will help you.